In the Shadows
by C-dubz96
Summary: A boy is orphaned by the Ing, but taken in by the Luminoth. What will happen as he learns of what really occurred when he was adopted?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Metroid Prime 2 Echoes or any of the alien creatures found in the game. Read it the first time please.

Author's Note: To those who read my last Metroid story before I took it down: I only did that to retool it a bit. I know this idea might not be original, but I can try, right? Anyway, R&R please.

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**Gramkel's Life**

**Chapter 1- The Beginnings**

An explosion. From the ball of fire emerged two adults walking with a child. The two were obviously parents. The child could not have been more than two years old.

The explosion had happened when the family's ship had crash-landed on the planet, just as many before it. However, the family had been shot down, and by the Galactic Federation. Their ship was mistaken for a Pirate Frigate by one of the younger GFed troopers, and was bombarded by heavy weapons fire.

As the family walked across the planet, they noticed a large alien structure. As they approached though, they were attacked by a swarm of creatures. The creatures were a dark blue in structure, but their eyes shone of red and yellow.

The creatures beheaded the mother and father, but before they could attack the child, something came from the temple and destroyed them. More aliens appeared, but they were different. These aliens stood on two legs, had three fingers, and were clad in armor. One of them glided towards the crying child and picked him up. In an alien tongue, he said "Do not fear, child, you are safe now." The child stopped crying and fell asleep. The beings took the child into the temple and raised him as one of their own. Once he learned to speak, he told them that he had always been called Gramkel, but he could not remember anything that had happened to his parents.

As the years progressed, Gramkel learned the creatures' tongue, and that they were called the Luminoth. The one who had picked him up was U-Mos. Although, they treated him as one of their own, Gramkel had established a stronger bond with U-Mos than any of the others.

Unbeknownst to Gramkel, however, U-Mos had wiped his memory of his parent's death to keep him from experiencing the pain of death for the rest of his life.

When Gramkel came of age, however, he learned of the ongoing war with "the Ing" as the Luminoth called them. Although he wished to join the battle, U-Mos forbade it, saying that he wished for Gramkel to stay by his side. As time passed, Gramkel became more and more suspicius of whether U-Mos was hiding something from him or not.

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This is shorter than I wanted it to be, but I couldn't keep going on and on without leaving anything for the next chapter, could I? R&R please.


	2. Chapter 2: Ancient Records

Author's Note: This starts a little gap between Gramkel and U-Mos. R&R please, I'm getting tired of putting this up and not getting responses until the third or fourth chapter.

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**Gramkel's Life**

**Chapter 2- Ancient Records**

Days passed, the war with the Ing continued and little progress was shown, and for some reason, Gramkel was forbidden to leave the temple grounds. He believed that U-Mos did not want him to see the desolation of Aether as it had happened so many years before. Gramkel was now 26, and although he was an adult, he lived by the rules of the Luminoth.

One day, as he was exploring the grounds, which he had done for so many years now, he noticed something new: a passageway, hidden behind the brush he had often climbed on as a child. He walked through the passage, and found himself in an alcove. As he progressed further, he found books in an ancient tongue. He took the books with him when he left. As he read, he learned that D-Chr, who had died many years before Gramkel had even been born.

Another book caught Gramkel's eye, however, the writing was almost incomprehensible, but for some reason, Gramkel recognized it as a summoning ritual. The pictures associated with the ritual depicted an eight-armed demon who, given the chance, would possess its host, just as the Ing.

"What is it that you read, Gramkel?" U-Mos was right behind him, and apparently he did not know of the book before. "I found these while I was walking around the grounds. Why do you ask?" "I have never seen these before, who is it that wrote these books?" Gramkel looked back over the cover and saw a name. "It says A-Kul, but I thought he was one of the key bearers."

"He is, but he should have reported anything that he learned to us if he were to record it." Gramkel was unsure of what to make of this, A-Kul was a keybearer, but he had recorded ancient histories. Another thing that bothered him was why a book had been written if the Luminoth normally used Holoprojectors.

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This might not make sense now, but it will later, hopefully. R&R please, and thanks


	3. Chapter 3: Sacred Weapons

Author's Note: Alright, I got a few suggestions for this chapter; I'll see what I can do. But don't you think five Ing are a little too much at once without proper weaponry? Oh well, if anything needs improvement, it's the length of these chapters. R&R please.

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**Gramkel's Life**

**Chapter 3: The Sacred Weapons**

Since he had found those books, Gramkel had not put them down, he was pouring through them everyday in an effort to find where the earlier forms of anti-Ing weaponry were kept, if they had not been destroyed.. Suddenly, something caught his eye. There was a book with images depicting D-Chr, but he was using two whips. One was obviously imbued with the power of darkness, and the other with light. And it told of their location, as if someone was going to try to remember where they were to keep them safe.

Gramkel had made a decision: he would sneak out of the temple grounds and into Agon Wastes where the whips were buried deep underneath the sands of the temple. He took with him some armor he had found on a dead Luminoth sentry and set off.

When he arrived, he realized it was already getting close to morning. He had to hurry. He ran off with all due speed towards the temple, but found the way blocked by a pile of rocks. Fortunately, he had prepared for this. He saw a nearby creature that the Luminoth called a sand-digger. He knew what to do, he justhoped he would never have to us what he had learned from the books. He stopped worrying and lured it towards the wall.

He jumped out of the way and brought a rock down on the back head. The sand-digger exploded and the rocks tumbled into the sand and Gramkel now had access to the temple. He opened the door and was assaulted by war wasps. He didn't know exactly what to do, even though he had seen them every day on the temple grounds, they generally left him alone. He did the only thing he could think of: Run until he found something he could use. He found a dead war wasp by some sand blocks and ripped off the stinger. It wasn't much, but if he hit the right spot, he could get rid of them easily. He stabbed at one, but then realized he had Luminoth technology at his disposal. He prepared to fire, but his weapon was empty. He felt really stupid now.

He picked up the stinger again and continued his assault. The war wasps slowly fell back and Gramkel let out a victorious howl. He knew it wasn't much, but he had actually killed something aside from a fly. He walked into the ring of sand, and the gates went up. He felt like he was in trouble, but nothing came out. He pulled out his book again and went directly to the center of the ring. He slowly dug all the way to the bottom and found what looked like the door to an under temple.

Gramkel opened the door and realized he was in a shrine, there was a statue that depicted the same eight-armed demon that he had read about. Right below the statue were the two whips and an engraving in the Luminoth tongue which translated into a single word: "Rage". He picked up the whips and swung them around for a bit. At least now he would have some decent protection against the hostile life on Aether. He left the shrine, taking one last look at the statue. Something was odd about it though, its eyes were a deep green, and were shining brightly. Gramkel ran out of the shrine quickly and filled up the hole after closing the door. He was on his way back to the transport to the temple grounds when he saw that there was a strange cloud of purple, yellow, red, and black coming towards him.

He jumped out of the way and the cloud was absorbed b a sand-digger. It changed, its skin became rigid, it only had one head now, and as it transformed, he noticed that t had screamed in anguish, as if it were happening against the sand-digger's will. It charged at him, and he just barely jumped out of the way again. Then he realized just what had happened. The sand-digger had been possessed by one of the Ing. Gramkel raised the whip of light and brought it down onto the dark sand-digger's eye. It caught fire and writhed for a moment, but then charged at him again, now irritated.

Gramkel panicked and held the whips together. Something amazing happened and they coiled, their color changed. Gramkel realized that he had mixed energy and was eager to try it out. He brought the whip down again and this time, the dark sand-digger exploded. Gramkel stood there for a moment and then said. "That's it? The Ing died with it?" He shrugged and walked back into the lift. He was done for the day.

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Well, that one was longer than most of the ones I've been writing, hope you liked it.


	4. Chapter 4: Rage

Author's note: I'd like to thank Peanuckle for the suggestions; some will be coming into play this chapter. Hope you enjoy.

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**Gramkel's Life**

**Chapter 4: Rage**

By the time Gramkel had returned, U-Mos had already seen and learned of what had happened through the Sentinel Crystals. "I see that you have found the sacred whips of the first inhabitants of this planet. By going to Agon Wastes, however, do you realize that you have made the Ing fully aware that you are still on this planet?" Gramkel, as he listened, hung his head at first, but then tried to comprehend what his foster-father had said. "What do you mean when you say 'still'?" U-Mos took a breath and turned to Gramkel, oddly calm. "Perhaps I should not have erased that horrid day from the darkest space of your mind. It is time I told you exactly what happened that day 2.6 deca-cycles ago."

U-Mos told Gramkel of all that had happened when had been found on the planet; how his parents had ruthlessly been murdered by the Ing, how U-Mos had taken him in before putting the other Luminoth into a Stasis 5 cycles later. By the time he was done, Gramkel was fighting to stop tears from flowing from his eyes. U-Mos comforted him and Gramkel eventually regained his composure. "Why didn't you tell me this before? Why wasn't I treated as an outsider rather than one of the Luminoth? How could you find it in your hearts to take in a human infant?" Gramkel was becoming angry under his cool, disciplined exterior.

"I felt that you were not entirely ready to bear the pain, I did not expect you to disobey and find those ancient whips. I take it you saw the statue behind them though?" Gramkel could not speak, his mouth was dry; he simply nodded. "That statue sealed an ancient beast that was regarded as the creator of this planet. The ancients feared its terrible power and laid the whips it carried as a seal in front of it. Anyone who was not chosen by that creature to wield its whips would lose their arms trying to remove them. By taking the whips, you have proven that you are the chosen host of the beast that we have dubbed 'Rage'." Gramkel stood up, showing himself in true light for the first time that day. He stood to about 6 and a half feet, his hair was cut short, to about 1/20th of a millimeter, his arms were long, but he was flexible. He was also very skinny, U-Mos was often concerned about how much or how little he was eating.

"Soon the beast will arrive, and it will come for you; do not fear, however, with your efforts, we can end this war. You will have to find a way of transporting the Energy Transfer Module, though." Gramkel contemplated and then spoke his thoughts. "If the Energy Transfer Module requires Luminoth or Chozo Technology, how am I to carry it?" U-Mos looked up at him. "How do you know of the Chozo?" "I read what I could from the holo-projectors scattered about the grounds, I learned of how the Chozo shared a similar intelligence level with the Luminoth, so I assumed that their technology is similar to yours."

Before U-Mos could say anything further, they both turned and saw the creature that Gramkel had thought to be a demon when he had read the books. He now recognized it as the statue he had seen in the Undertemple in Agon Wastes. As it spoke, Gramkel looked over its features. Six of its eight hands were similar, they were all clawed, but its second pair of arms looked oddly reminiscent of crab claws. They were curved into circles, but the lower half was shorter, and there were only two fingers. Gramkel assumed that they were used to grab creatures more easily.

"You have been deemed worthy of playing host to the awesome force that wrought this planet from nothing. Should you accept, however, you shall house this power for the rest of your life." Gramkel grinned, he was highly tempted by the power he would be able to control if he accepted, but did he really want to spend his life acting as a host to such a terrible power? "Ah, screw it, if it'll end this war and I can go farther than the Temple Grounds and Agon Wastes, I'll do it." Gramkel unintentionally thought aloud. The creature's eyes began to glow an even deeper shade of green. "So be it, prepare yourself; but note that you shall still be in control most of the time, but I shall assist whenever necessary or whenever you require council."

The creature turned into a foul-looking green vapor, which then became a brilliant white, and then it turned to purple, then to a deep red-orange, and then slowly advanced towards Gramkel. U-Mos half expected it to appear on the other side, but rather, it stayed inside Gramkel's body. At that point, Gramkel felt an astonishing amount of pain surging all through his body, but he resisted screaming with only the utmost self-control. As he felt the pain, he realized he was bleeding at his sides. He watched, horrified, as the last six arms of the creature grew out, including the crab claws. His arms changed and the pain subsided. He now had the eight arms of Rage, but he still had control over all his motions.

"Gramkel, are you alright?" Gramkel thought it was U-Mos who was speaking to him, but then realized that the voice was different. He was still groggy from the pain he had just endured. "Rage?" "Yes, thank you for using my proper title. Eventually, you shall come to understand why I am called such." This time, U-Mos spoke "Gramkel, how do you feel?" "I'm alright, but I don't understand how or why I have eight arms. I thought that most victims of possession were controlled by the creature that lodged itself in their bodies, I didn't know that they took on the physical traits of whatever possessed them."

Rage spoke again, but Gramkel's eyes began to glow the same color as Rage's eyes. "Most often, this does not occur, but as I am not a demon, that does not apply." "Well, what are you?" Gramkel's now green eyes went blank. "I never thought I would be asked that question; to be perfectly honest, I am not even sure what I am, but that is all irrelevant."

"What is relevant?" U-Mos asked. "Gramkel cannot house both the Energy Transfer Module and I, another must take control of it." "What will we do, I cannot leave this temple as the Sentinel." "Do not worry, I sense that another has approached the planet's atmosphere, but my question is, how is Gramkel able to breath on this planet?" "As his foster-father, I did a scan when I found him and learned that he has an unnaturally strong oxygen filtration system running through his body, as if it were biogenetically placed there." "I think I remember something like that. Before my parents were killed, they took me to a medical station and had an oxygenator placed right in my system, as if they were planning for a trip into space and onto other planets."

Rage decided to cut the small talk short and get straight to what had to be done. "Regardless, Gramkel will need to learn what he can do now that I am settled into his body. U-Mos, Gramkel will need to travel across Aether, starting with Agon Wastes; he will also need to traverse Dark Aether." "Very well, I just wish to have one last word." Rage grunted. "So long as it is quick." "Gramkel, just promise me that you will return occasionally to assure me that you are still alive." Gramkel's eyes were now the same as they had been prior to his possession: deep brown with a hint of green and blue. "I will, don't worry." Gramkel bowed before U-Mos, and U-Mos did the same. "May the Light of Aether shine on you." Gramkel left after U-Mos had finished the traditional wish of luck.

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I'd like to clarify a few things:

Gramkel's parents had an atmospheric filter put into his trachea so that he could survive on most treacherous atmospheres.

Rage is inside of Gramkel, but he doesn't have full control of his conscience or his brain, he exists as something of a voice of reason.

Other than that, Rage can sense anything coming near Aether, I made him as something of the manifestation of the planet's unharvested energy, that is, before he was sealed away and before the Luminoth came to settle on Aether. R&R please


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